Mid Valley alumni, athlete fights leukemia, asks for help from the public
The Roanoke College sophomore is now engaged in a different kind of team effort in a battle against T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Kaufman's former classmates, his friends, neighbors and the community are coming together to find a blood stem cell donor for Kaufman.
'Team Eddie K' is working with the National Marrow Donor Program, or NMDP, to find a life-saving match for Kaufman, who is currently at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.
The registry has a '9 out of 10' match for Kaufman, but his doctors say a perfect '10 out of 10' match will reduce the chances he will reject the stem cells.
Events in Lackawanna and Luzerne counties will provide a chance for potential donors ages 18-40 to do a swab test to see if they are a potential match for Kaufman and also place their names on the national NMDP registry.
Potential donors can also swab the inside of their cheek at home and mail the test in.
Brian Kaufman, Eddie's father, said the family is beyond grateful to members of the community that have enthusiastically responded when they found out his son needed help.
Kaufman looks back to last fall when his son called from college complaining of swollen lymph nodes.
The family thought the swollen nodes were related to dental work and an oral surgeon put him on antibiotics.
The antibiotics didn't work and when Kaufman made a trip home to Throop, it was apparent his lymph nodes were extremely swollen.
He went to his pediatrician and was referred to the Children Hospital's of Philadelphia for treatment.
Kaufman said his son had been in extremely good shape, worked out regularly and was a rising star on his college baseball team.
College coaches said they hadn't seen any signs Eddie Kaufman was ill.
And, although the family is hoping their efforts will find a perfect match for Eddie Kaufman, Brian Kaufman said Eddie is aware that in working to get people on the registry, he's also helping others in need of a stem cell transplant.
'Eddie has always been part of a team. He's always been part of a group,' Brian Kaufman said during an interview at the Throop Civic Center. 'This is a different kind of a team.'
The center will open its doors Wednesday and Thursday from 5-7 p.m. for a 'Help Eddie Kaufman Fight Leukemia Swab Event.'
Similar events will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Friday at the Lackawanna County Government Center and the Luzerne County UFCO, Jenkins Twp.
Brian Kaufman said donors recover quickly after making a stem cell donation, likening it to a plasma donation.
According to the NMDP registry website, 90% of donors donate through a process called 'peripheral blood cell donation' and are generally able to return to work the day after donating and are fully recovered within a week.
Friends in the battle
Eddie Kaufman may have chosen to move out of state to attend college, but he's remained close with friends from the area.
When those friends found out he was sick, they took to their cellphones and asked in a group chat, 'What can we do to help Eddie?'
Jaden Carroll poses with cutouts of his Mid Valley alumni Eddie Kaufman. Kaufman is battling leukemia. (GERI GIBBONS/STAFF PHOTO)
Jaden Carroll and Emily Deoliveira were among those classmates who stepped up and will be volunteering at the donation events.
'We actually hung out at week before he left for college and everything was great,' Deoliveira said. 'A couple weeks into college, we heard that he was sick.'
After the friend group found out it was leukemia, they sprang into action.
'All of our friends talked about what we could do to help him,' she said. 'Recently we found out we could do the swabbing because he needs a perfect match.'
Deoliveira said the swabbing is a very easy process, pointing out it's much easier then swabbing for COVID.
'We've done it and now we're trying to get other people to do it as well,' she said.
For information about opportunities to donate access the 'Team Eddie K' website at teameddiek.com.
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